dorset council strategic planning committee

Local Plan studies will be published

Studies that have been carried out as part of the evidence for the Dorset Council Local Plan and these will be published on Dorset Council’s website in the next few months.

These studies, along with the responses from the consultation and other reports, will help shape the plan. View these studies

The reports to be published include:

• Dorset-wide Strategic Flood Risk Assessment Level 1
• Gypsy, Traveller, and Travelling Showpeople Needs Assessment
• Viability Assessment to inform affordable housing policy and community infrastructure levy
• Retail Needs Assessment
• Employment Needs Assessment

A Local Plan is a legal requirement for all councils who have a planning role. A Local Plan sets out how planning for all sorts of things, housing, industry, renewable power, mineral extraction will be managed to create economic growth while protecting the character of the area.

When Dorset Council was formed in April 2019, it inherited all the adopted planning policies from the former district and borough councils, and the county council. Over time these need to be reviewed and updated. The Dorset Council Local Plan is an important part of this review process and consultation on a draft took place in January 2021. The revised plan will be informed by the evidence we’re about to publish, the results of the consultation and any changes to national policy that occur over the coming months. There may well be other pieces of evidence we need to help inform the plan’s content. It will then undergo an examination in public before the council will be able to adopt it.

A Local Plan, formed using residents’ views, makes sure that the development needs of the area are met in the right locations and to avoid harm to Dorset’s environment. Without the protection of a Local Plan developers are more likely to be successful in an appeal against a decision taken by the council.

Cllr David Walsh, Dorset Council Portfolio Holder for Planning, said:

“The plan is not just about housing, it is about creating communities for people to live, work and enjoy. There will be a mix of types of homes for a wide variety of households who live and work in Dorset generating economic growth and prosperity for the county.

“We have extended the time to complete our Local Plan which means we can consider new legislation (Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill) which is due to become law next year. I am also asking the rules on having five years of land supply be relaxed during the plan preparation period.  This is to protect the county from developers challenging outdated policies so that they can build where there was no plan for housing previously.”

Find more information about the Dorset Council Local Plan 

5 thoughts on “ Local Plan studies will be published ”

Does the list given above comprise all or the required evidence base studies/reports/research? Answer is No… Why will all required evidence based be not published or listed?

What about background papers? Would you please give the list of background papers/reports done or in the process of developing?

Will the “settlement hierarchy” be revisited: The existing/published one has not had any methodological framework or if it is please explain the research methodology of the settlement Hierarchy report?

Where is the council’s response to the consultation carried out Feb 2021? We are nearly 2023. The council should tell us how they reflect the consultation responses onto the plan in progress in a report form?

Where is the most important evidence base “Strategic Housing Land Allocations Assessment in a report form like other councils? Nobody can compare the sites put forward by promoters and the council’s assessments.

Would you please respond the questions above & publish them in Dorset Echo, not everybody knows this site or even if registered not receive notifications

Hi Solmaz – we have had this conversation before. All items on this newsroom are sent to all local media outlets – they choose whether to run the story or not. All evidence and background papers are published on our website at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan/dorset-council-local-plan-evidence-and-background-papers you will notice that the housing need assessment we jointly carried out with BCP is there – and this story was carried in the local media. This particular news item highlights the latest evidence – not all evidence.The settlement hierarchy is explained in this webinar- https://youtu.be/EeMCbPCjSOk We are currently considering all comments made in the first consultation against planning policy and appropriate part of the draft plan – this is taking a long time because we had over 9,000 respondents – which is great news, but it takes time. All the comments can be found at https://wa.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/LocalPlanDCComments/pages/View.aspx We are waiting for the Governments up and coming Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill – to ensure our plan corresponds to the new legislation. You can also see all the proposed sites on this handy map – https://explorer.geowessex.com/dclp?layers=22070,22083,22079,50&basemap=26&x=378008.83&y=99630.73&epsg=27700&zoom=10 this link is available on the Dorset Council Plan web pages. I am unable to ‘publish’ in the Dorset Echo as this is an independent media. This publication is limited to it’s geographical area – west dorset and predominantly Weymouth and Dorchester. I prefer to use all media online and off to make sure all residents of Dorset are aware of the process we are making. Fiona

I commented your response last week For some reasons have not appeared on this page. Would you please explain why?

Would you please answer the following questions yes or no.

1)Will the council publish a report on how the consultation responses is assessed & reflected on the DC preferred options?

2) Will the council publish a report indicating what changes are made in the DC preferred options (Feb2021)?

3) Will the council publish a Strategic Housing Land Allocations Availability in a report form?

4) Will the council consult a new version of the DC preferred options considering the last consultation was in Feb/March 2021 since then significant changes have taken place ie 9000 consultation responses may require a fresh consultation for the DC Preferred Options again?

5) Will any more evidence base /background papers be published except already known ones by now.

Would you please answer each question : YES or NO, Please do not write anything else other than yes or no, Please do not give reference to links, etc.

I trust you will be able to response the questions thatI set above: only YES or NO

MANY THANKS, KING REGARDS. SOL

Hi Solmaz Here are the answers to your questions. I cannot just answer yes or no to these questions – I have when I can but the work is much too complex to be reduced to a binary answer. I owe it to all our readers to write a full reply to explain.

1)Will the council publish a report on how the consultation responses is assessed & reflected on the DC preferred options? Yes – we are in the process of reflecting on all responses against the particular parts of the plan.

2) Will the council publish a report indicating what changes are made in the DC preferred options (Feb2021)? This is yet to be determined

3) Will the council publish a Strategic Housing Land Allocations Availability in a report form? Yes – more info at https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/planning-buildings-land/planning-policy/dorset-council-local-plan/evidence/land-availability

4) Will the council consult a new version of the DC preferred options considering the last consultation was in Feb/March 2021 since then significant changes have taken place ie 9000 consultation responses may require a fresh consultation for the DC Preferred Options again? The level of consultation will depend upon the changes (see answer to 2). We are waiting for the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill to see what difference this will make to the draft plan alongside the consultation results. We have to abide by National Planning Policy. The Local Plan Process includes a number of consultations and Planning Inspector enquiries which we must facilitate.

5) Will any more evidence base /background papers be published except already known ones by now.Yes – research, assessment and evidence are continuous… things change such as new flood reports, nutrient neutrality changes etc. These will continually be used so that any plan does not become out of date.

I have tried to answer your as clearly as possible. We are working on all aspects of the plan, all of this will be published on our website and I will promote any additions.

Regards Fiona

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Committee approve Housing Strategy ahead of next week’s Cabinet

One of Dorset Council’s key documents, the Housing Strategy, is a step closer to being adopted by the council. Today, the People and Health Overview Committee recommended it for approval to Cabinet.      

The strategy sets out the priorities and approach to meet local housing needs and objectives over the next five years and will be supported by the emerging delivery plan.  

It brings together extensive research and analysis of housing issues from a local and national context.  Internal and external stakeholder engagement and 2,137 responses to a 10-week public consultation have also helped to shape the strategy.   

Lead member for Housing, Councillor Graham Carr Jones said, “This high-level strategic approach supports our vison of affordable, suitable, secure homes where our residents can live and thrive as part of sustainable and thriving communities. We had to be bold and forthright in our thinking and recognise we had to do this collaboratively.   

I am excited to be sharing this strategy and to see this through.  We call it a living document for a reason, not only because at it’s about the people of Dorset but also in recognition of the varied and ongoing challenges and changes that require us to be nimble, empathetic, and effective.”    

The strategy will be presented to Cabinet on 5 December before going to Full Council on 14 December.

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